A DISH CALLED DEDICATION
How this art lure angler underwent the conversion to fly fishing in the toughest possible way - obsessing over spotted grunter... READ ON:
GRUNTER GOTTA EAT Part 3 or 4
TOTALLY COMMITTED Nine to five. That’s how long I worked that flat today. The blazing sun burned me right through my shirt: I now look like a tomato with vitiligo. Also, I missed an appointment. Within an hour or two of fishing I felt as though I had a steel rod in my back, and [...]
GRUNTER GOTTA EAT Pt. 2.2
IRONMAN SBS If you haven't read part 1 and part 2.1 of this series, may I suggest you do before working through this piece? If we’re all still friends after that, let’s tie this thing. Note: Pic heavy post, and I found some of the finer points quite hard to explain. I hope you can [...]
GRUNTER GOTTA EAT Pt. 2.1
A muse, a rant and an introduction to the upcoming Ironman SBS I feel as though we need some emotional preparation. Even if I were immune to bouts of overzealous, extra-verbose circumlocutory elaboration, an Ironman SBS was never going to be a quick read. I recommend setting aside a few hours one evening, with some [...]
GRUNTER GOTTA EAT Part 1
For as long as SA fly fishers have been obsessed with grunter, misconceptions and heresies have spread about fishing for them. Noticeably, and especially in the Western Cape, many grunter hunters have focused almost exclusively on one ubiquitous grunter food, the mud prawn. But has tunnel vision inadvertently done us out of options? Yeah, maybe. [...]
THE FEATHERS AWARD
When we announced the Feathers Award in December 2020, we knew it would attract some very special entries. This was not only because for this inaugural competition we allowed for entries from any time in the past 24 months, but also because in our experience fly anglers in Africa are, for the most part, hard-charging [...]
PATTEX 100%
Glossy, durable, flexible and perfect for fly tying. In Pattex 100% Platon Trakoshis believes he has found the ultimate fly tying glue for building baitfish heads Glue. It’s always such a big question and discussion with fly tiers. “What did you glue the eyes on with? How did you make that head? What are you [...]
THE ENIGMA
In our social media age of non-stop self-promotion and faux-modesty, there are a few anglers that seem not only to develop an aura that demands respect, but that somehow manage to do it off-line, above the wash. Navigating myths, rumours and legends, Jazz Kuschke discovers that, if you’ve heard any kind of story about Mark [...]
MARK KRIGE’S WINTER GRUNTER SECRET
….When you know it’s time to go. The research of Dr Paul Cowley and his team from SAIAB has shown that spotted grunter travel far less than previously thought. Or, at least, in modern times don’t migrate as they may have in the past. Results from one particular study showed that 95% of all recaptured [...]
THE BULLET
From body-boarding to skateboarding, exploring the Vaal River and its tributaries for amazing yellowfish action, or inventing fly patterns like the brilliant Papa Roach, whatever our issue 21 Lifer Herman Botes does in life, he does at full tilt.